Mr Wickremesinghe, 73, was sworn in before Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya at the parliament building and under close supervision.
The Sri Lankan police chief and the high command of the army stood behind him during this ceremony held in the presence of the Speaker of Parliament, Mahinda Abeywardana.
Under the Constitution, the President is also the Minister of Defense and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
Mr. Wickremesinghe had been elected head of state the day before by parliament with the support of the clan of his predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who resigned last week after fleeing the country shaken by four months of demonstrations against his power.
But for many Sri Lankans, it’s white hat and white hat. “We don’t need Ranil, he’s the same as Gota,” said Irfan Hussain, a poultry farmer in the capital Colombo, on Thursday. “I don’t think he’s going to improve our country,” he added. “He only thinks of himself, not of the people.”
The demonstrations will “obviously” continue, assured Wednesday Nuzly Hameem, engineer and activist, but “we are exhausted, it has been going on for four months”.
– “Miseries and disasters” –
Mr. Wickremesinghe, elected for the remaining period of Mr. Rajapaksa’s term, which ends in November 2024, is now seeking a prime minister to form a government.
He could appoint his childhood friend Dinesh Gunawardena, a former civil service minister and fervent supporter of the Rajapaksa clan, to this post. He is a trade union leader who represents a small nationalist party allied to the SLPP, the Rajapaksa party.
Mr. Gunawardena and Mr. Wickremesinghe have known each other since they were three years old and studied together at the prestigious Royal College in Colombo.
But according to political sources, at least two other personalities are also in the running for the post.
Mr. Wickremesinghe is keen to bring together a coalition of all formations, said a source in his entourage, adding that “a few deputies from the main opposition will join the cabinet”.
Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, who backed a rival candidate in parliament’s election of the president on Wednesday, said on Twitter on Thursday that he met Wickremesinghe and discussed how to shield the country from new “miseries and disasters”.
“As the opposition, we will lend our constructive support to efforts to alleviate human suffering,” Premadasa tweeted.
According to official sources, the new head of state should form a strong government of up to 30 ministers whose mission will be to get the country out of the worst economic crisis in its history.
– “Beneficial” relationships –
Mr. Wickremesinghe inherits a ravaged country of 22 million people that has suffered for months from power cuts, shortages of food, medicine and fuel.
The island, which defaulted in April on its foreign debt of 51 billion dollars, no longer has foreign currency to finance its essential imports, and is now counting on a rescue plan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
A large share of borrowing is due to international sovereign bondholders, but China remains Sri Lanka’s largest bilateral foreign creditor, accounting for more than 10% of its debt.
Sri Lanka has made “stupid bets” by going into debt with China, the CIA chief said on Wednesday, to explain, in part, the current crisis on the island, saying it should serve as a warning to other countries tempted by such a rapprochement with Beijing.
“The Chinese have a lot of influence and they can make their investments very attractive,” said the head of the American intelligence agency, Bill Burns, at the Forum on security in Aspen, Colorado.
Beijing Foreign Ministry spokesman Weng Wenbin responded that the US officials’ comments would not affect the “friendly and beneficial” relationship between China and Sri Lanka.
Wednesday evening, after his election, Mr. Wickremesinghe went to meditate in a Buddhist temple. In front of the press, he warned “troublemakers” resorting to undemocratic means and promised to show severity if they tried to disturb his government.
“If we try to overthrow the government, occupy the president’s office and the prime minister’s office, it’s not about democracy, and we will deal with those with firmness,” he said.
Ranil Wickremesinghe is hated by the protest movement which considers him an ally and protector of Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
“I am not a friend of the Rajapaksa, I am a friend of the people,” he also insisted.
